Leaning mirror

I was on the prowl for some sort of decorative mirror, but nothing too heavy and dark. So when I was strolling through JCPenney a few weeks ago I stumbled upon a group of large mirrors that were 50% off (!). Most had ornate dark brown or black frames, and weren't quite what I was looking for.



But, one was painted a shimmery gold color with robin's egg blue accents (yes, I'm drawn to that color lately). I liked that it was brighter and less heavy looking than other mirrors, and it also mimicked the gold drapes in my living room. I called Pete from the store and he said to go for it. When it was rung up, the original $200 was knocked down to $100, then minus another $15 for some sort of random discount I was unaware of, then another $28 was subtracted with the aid of a gift card. End result? A large and lovely mirror that was about $66.



At the moment it's leaning against the living room wall, but I may move it to another wall in the room or have it mounted. I love the concept of mirrors and/or art leaning against the wall, or sitting on a desk, versus mounted traditionally. And I do like where it's at right now, because it reminds me of the dog staring in the mirror in the Petco commercial. Our dogs and cats often stop and look at themselves in the mirror, or watch other things going on in the room via its shiny surface.

Lovin' the Levi's—and the Caparros

I relented and bought some Levi's on Saturday. I got my usual favorite cut, the 515s. I'm not sure why, but the Lee's I bought the other day are feeling weird to me. I wore two pairs so far, so I'll keep those, but I'm going to return the other two today and just buy a few more pairs of Levi's. I am keeping the charcoal pants though. I really like them and they're dressy looking.

These were the washes I got today (see above—Blue Wave, Dusty Road, Antique). I stayed away from the light wash, but I liked the dirty look of the Dusty Road wash. The jeans are almost snug on me, but I've gained like ten pounds since the wedding that I need to re-lose. Not only that, but I have stopped running and I'm not as toned anymore. Ugh!



I also got these beautiful dove gray silk d'Orsay heels on clearance at DSW on Friday night. Yes, completely impractical, but totally fabulous and pretty. And I did really well at Marshalls too. Normally I can't find a single thing that I like there, although I did buy my black wrap dress there last year. But I found lots of nice shirts on clearance for like $7, $10, etc. Pretty sweet. So I think I should be pretty set in the clothing department. I'm still on the lookout for a black A-line skirt, but I don't know that I'll ever find just what I'm looking for (Jen has the same problem).

The spoils

Well, I've emerged victorious tonight. I got myself two kinds of dark wash denim jeans, and some cool charcoal gray jeans-like pants. I was originally browsing through the Levi's at JCPenney's—yes, I know, not the fanciest store, but I figured they'd have Levi's—and not having much luck. The fits were all wrong, especially in the leg. I have a voluptuous lower half, so it's not attractive when I wear pants that hug my wide hips, thick thighs, and puffy knees, and then suddenly flare out at the bottom. I recalled what they always talk about on What Not to Wear, that you should dress to fit your body, not what you think you should wear, or what others are wearing. A straighter, looser-fitting leg was key.

I was getting frustrated until I wandered over to the Lee jeans section. I haven't worn Lee jeans since I was a teenager, and back then they were going through a rather unfortunate ugly stage. That's when I moved over to Levi's, but as I've mentioned, I've been struggling with that brand lately. Anyhow, I found the charcoal jeans-like pants in the Lee section and figured I'd give them a try. I was amazed at how well they fit my body, and how flattering and comfortable they were! Of course, I grabbed another pair and went back out onto the sales floor to find regular jeans. I selected a dark wash and an indigo wash, which fit me almost the same way as the charcoal pants. I ended up buying a total of six pairs of pants, more than enough to get me through an average week.

As I was paying for my pants, I glanced over at the shoe department and something caught my eye. On the sales end cap were a gorgeous pair of shiny teal open-toe pumps with little buckles on the front. They have that rubber-like sole that is really flexible and easy on the feet, yet they still look structured and stylish. It must have been meant to be, because they had a size 8 in stock and they fit like a charm. Best of all, they were on sale! The picture really doesn't do them justice—they're much, much prettier in person. The color positively gleams, and the shape of the shoe is lovely. I'll have to take a photo of them when I have them on my feet tomorrow.

So all in all, it was a fruitful shopping trip. I left the mall early enough to get home, have some dinner, blog, and watch a little tv while cuddling with Spanky on the couch. It's turned out to be a good evening all around.

When I think about it, I've been avoiding lots of fashionable tops and shoes because my pants have become so ill-fitting, frayed, and just old. Now that I have pants that fit, I don't have to refrain from wearing any of my cute tops. Of course I'm going to wear my new shoes and a pair of the charcoal pants tomorrow to work. I'm so psyched that I'm almost looking forward to going to work, if only to show off my new finds. Yay!